Montgomery

Abraham Lincoln

Martin Luther

Why I beat the dead horse...it keeps kicking

Two places I feel close ties with have made national news recently. This opens the door for conversation on a couple points.

Curious George
The owner of the bar cited his right to freedom of speech.
I agree, he has a right to make the shirt, I will defend him on that. I would like to add for those who do not know the area, Marietta
(where the shirt was made) is not a country hick town. It is an affluent suburb of Atlanta chalk full of houses that have retained their value despite the housing crisis.
The shirts sold out.
Is racism really a thing of the past?

Obama Sock Monkey
My daughter has a sock monkey. The maker of the Obama version has ceased production, apologized, and claims it did not realize this doll would be offensive.
Even if the manufacturer was simply unaware as they claim, this one hurts.

To be unaware that referring to a black person as a monkey is the height of ignorance. It shows a complete lack of historical knowledge and a complete blind eye to the experience of millions of black people.
Reading the responses to columns dealing with this story in both the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune have sent me into a funk. I should know better, as these comment sections tend to attract the fringe who are simply trying to get a rise out of readers, but the tone was more than disappointing.
The idea is repeated that the outcry was unfair, because Bush is called a monkey all the time and “the left” are not upset by this.
Do I really need to explain why this is not a case of unfair double standard? Have political lenses really made empathy this out of focus?

Do black people need thicker skin or do white people need to knock it off?

Gordon B.

This was done from my seat, 4 rows from the stand. He kept looking right at me either thinking I was some great note taker, or he was more likely wishing I would stop doodeling and pay better attention.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Columbus